INTRODUCTION

The recent trend that has been adapted by the automobile industries
is that of focusing on ways to deliver high quality products to the market at a
faster rate and at low cost. The consumer demands products at a relatively chea
per cost with no sacrifices being made on the quality of the product being deliv
ered. Chassis is one of the fundamental portions of the vehicles structure and r
equires providing enough stiffness to ensure assemble and to provide support to
the whole automobile structure [17].
While the chassis is subjected to various mechanical loads in the f
orm of shock loads and mechanical vibrations that may result in resonance phenom
enon to occur, causing the mechanical structure to fail completely Even if the e
xternal vibrations are below the resonance frequency the external vibration can
get transmitted to the vehicle body causing the chassis to vibrate leading to ri
de discomfort, jeopardizing ride safety and stability of the vehicle. Structural
resonance is a phenomenon which occurs when the external or internal excitation
frequency of an applied force onto the structure is equal to the natural freque
ncy of the system. The results of resonance can be summarized as occurrence of v
ibrations of very high amplitude thus causing material fatigue and fracture, ens
uing failure of the system. Thus, it is of utmost importance to determine the na
tural frequency of the system in order to avoid the occurrence of such a phenome
non. Resonance usually occurs due interactions of the inertial and elastic prope
rties of the material within the structure. Resonance has been known to be the c
ause or at least a contributing factor towards the failure of operating machiner
ies due to vibration or noise related problems. Thus considering the various eff
ects vibration problems can have on a machine, analysis of the dynamic character
istics is very important from an engineering point of view [14].
A perfect chassis can be defined as a large diameter thin walled tu
be. The word chassis is of French terminology and was in the beginning used to d
enote the frame parts and basic structure of the vehicle [1]. In layman s terms a
vehicle without a body is called a chassis. The automotive chassis can be define
d to have two basic goals:
> Hold the weight of the components
> To rigidly fix the suspension components together while moving [1].
The chassis can be classified roughly based on the frame type as;
> Ladder frame chassis
> Space frame chassis
> Backbone chassis
> Tub design chassis
> Monocoque chassis
Ladder frame chassis:
Figure 1: Ladder frame chassis
The ladder frame chassis is the simplest and the oldest form of cha
ssis frame ever used in the modern vehicular construction. The design of this fr
ame was originally adapted from horse and buggy style carriages as it provided suf
ficient strength for holding the weight of the components. If the load on the ch
assis was to be increased then the weight holding capacity could be increased ju
st by the using larger beams. Body on frame is an auto mobile construction metho
d where a separate body is mounted on a rigid frame. The frame generally compris
e of two longitudinal beams (usually C-sections) that run the entire length of t
he vehicle with provided cross members provided to hold the rails in place. The
motor may be placed in the front or the rear and supported at suspension points.
Once we add a passenger compartment and a trunk with a load and it becomes a si
mple indeterminate beam. This type of chassis provides little support for a perf
ormance automobile. The cross members are provided to prevent torsional deflecti
on and maintain geometry. Sometimes X bracing is also done to increase torsional
stiffness of main frame [1].
PROBLEM STATEMENT

The paper focuses on reducing the current weight of the chassis, de

termining the natural frequencies and presenting a new chassis with increased st
ructural reliability and performance standards. The need of the hour being reduc
ed fuel consumption and low weight. The reduced weight can be achieved by:
> Modifications in the design of the chassis
> Experimenting with new materials for the chassis
The former is utilized in this research. Two modified designs have been presente
d in this paper; both modified chassis have been tested against the current exis
ting chassis. The chassis that is seen to have the better overall performance ch
aracteristics is chosen as a replacement for the formerly existing chassis. Vari
ous assumptions to be listed later have been made on the part of the researcher
in the completion of this project. The results obtained from the research are fr
om simulation and experimental physical testing is not a part of the research.
EXPERIMENTAL OBJECTIVE
There are several objectives regarding the computational stress and
modal analysis of the car chassis. The main objective of the research being tha
t of the reduction of weight of the chassis by; method of implementation of modi
fication in the former existing chassis without sacrifice in strength and if pos
sible improvement of structural properties. The various sub objectives are liste
d as below:
> Static Structural Analysis:
* Finding the Von Misses stresses and its position
* Finding the Maximum principal stresses
* Finding Normal and Shear stresses
* Finding maximum deflection and its position
> Modal Analysis:
* Find the mode shapes of the chassis for the first six natural frequencies
* Determination natural frequencies
> Harmonic Analysis:
* Obtaining the resonance frequency for the chassis by plotting the amplitude vs
. frequency graph.
METHODOLOGY
The finite element method is a numerical technique for solving engi
neering problems. It is a powerful analysis tool used to solve simple as well as
complicated problem. The pre-processing task involves the preparation of the no
dal co-ordinates and its connectivity, meshing the model, load and boundary cond
itions and material information for finite element model and the processing and
post processing involves stiffness generation and solution of equations and revi
ew of the results in ANSYS 14.0.
> Create 3D CAD model: The 3D modeling of the chassis is done using Dassault Sys
tmes SolidWorks software and saved in a neutral format such as .igs format.
> Importing: Import the CAD geometry into the FEA package ANSYS 14.0.
> Material properties: The material properties are defined in the FEA package. T
he material to be used is structural steel.
> Meshing: Meshing is a critical operation in FEA. In this operation the CAD geo
metry is dividing into large number of small pieces. The small pieces are called
mesh. The auto generate mesh feature of ANSYS 14.0 is used in this research due
to the limited resources at the disposal of the researcher.
> Defining boundary conditions: The loads are applied and the position of the lo
ad is defined. The constraints and the supports provided are used as input.
> Solve: The FEA package ANSYS 14.0 solves the model with the given mesh and loa
ds for static, dynamic and harmonic analysis.
> Post processing: The reviewing of the results and the solutions are carried ou
t in ANSYS 14.0 itself. The results are viewed in various formats such as: graph
, values and animations.
Material specification:
The material that has been used in the manufacture of the chassis f
rame is Structural Steel. Fatigue data at zero mean stress comes from 1998 ASME
BPV code, section 8, division 2 and table 5-110.1. The physical and mechanical p
roperties of the steel are listed below.

1. Density = 7850 kg/m3

2. Coefficient of thermal expansion = 1.2E-05/oC
3. Young s modulus = 2E+11 MPa
4. Poisson s ration = 0.3
5. Bulk Modulus = 1.6667E+5 MPa
6. Shear Modulus = 7.6923E+4 MPa
7. Ultimate tensile strength = 460 MPa
8. Yield tensile strength = 250 MPa
9. Yield compressive strength = 250 MPa
10. Specific heat = 434 J/Kg/K
Load Calculation, boundary conditions and assumptions employed for the analysis:
Due to the tedious nature of the manual measurements of all the com
ponents of the Scorpio chassis and unavailability of resources at the researcher s
disposal; various assumptions were made regarding the application of loads and
boundary conditions.
> The mounting brackets for the engine are not considered, and the load on the c
hassis is presumed to have acted on the upper surface of the two longitudinal me
mbers (Rails).
> Fixed supports are provided beneath the chassis to act as the support from axl
es/suspension.
> Effects of rivets and welded joints are ignored and the chassis is considered
to be uniformly joined.
> The approximate kerb weight of the vehicle is 1800 Kg and about 65% of this we
ight approximately 1200 Kg is considered as the load acting on the chassis. The
load eliminating the tires, axles, suspension, etc. the 1200 Kg is converted int
o Newton s giving 11772 N. This value is rounded up and a value of 12000 N is cons
idered for the Structural analysis of the chassis.
> The self weight of the engine is considered as the external excitation for the
Harmonic analysis. The self weight of the engine is taken at 100 Kg. When conve
rted to Newton is take as 1000 N which is assumed to act on the centre of the cr
oss member on the front.
DESIGN OF THE CHASSIS
Model of the existing chassis is done on the SolidWorks platform an
d then the .igs file is exported to ANSYS 14.0 for analysis. Two modifications a
re made to the original namely modified 1 and modified 2 chassis.
Figure 2: Model of existing chassis
Figure 3: Model of modified 1 chassis
Figure 4: Model of the modified 2 chassis
The existing dimensions of the chassis and the modified dimensions
of the chassis are tabulated as below:
TABLE 1
DIMENSIONS OF ORIGINAL CHASSIS
Dimensions
Part
111.84
4004
27Total
778
1237
Breadth
70
Height
85
CCross
5Thickness
42
Open
Yes
BNreadth
Chassis
o.
section
mm
mmmm
inch
ofcross
mmsection
length
no.
KgDropped
main
tubular
cross
of
(Front
(Middle
(Rear
of
weight
main
of
main
member
rails
cross
member
main
section)
type
cross
section)
rails
section)
rails
tube
rails
members
atcross
member
frontmember
TABLE 2
DIMENSIONS OF THE MODIFIED 1 CHASSIS
Chassis
Dimensions
Part
94.817
4848
126Total
730
966
Breadth
64
Height
76
CCross
5Thickness
42
No
Yes
BNOpen
o.mm
readth
section
mmmm
inch
ofmm
cross
length
no.
section
KgDropped
main
tubular
cross
of
weight
(Front
(Middle
(Rear
of
main
of
main
member
rails
cross
member
main
section)
type
cross
section)
rails
section)
rails
tube
rails
members
atcross
member
frontmember
TABLE 3
DIMENSIONS OF THE MODIFIED 2 CHASSIS
Chassis
Dimensions
Part
95.562
4316
12Total
785
1017
767
Breadth
65
Height
76
CCross
5Thickness
42
No
Yes
BNOpen
o.mm
readth
section
mmmm
inch
ofmm
cross
length
no.
section
KgDropped
main
tubular
cross
of
weight
(Front
(Middle
(Rear
of
main
of
main
member
rails
cross
member
main
section)
type
cross
section)
rails
section)
rails
tube
rails
members
atcross
member
frontmember
FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
Finite element method is used in the mathematical model for the sol
ution of ordinary and partial differential solutions. Since it is a numerical me
thod it has the ability to solve complex problems that can be represented in the
form of differential equations. The software that is used for the analysis of t
he chassis is ANSYS 14.0. The stages involved in the Finite Element Method are a
s follows:
> Creating Geometry

*
*
*
*
>
*
*
*
*
>
>
*
*
*

Points
Lines
Surfaces
Solids
Preparing FEM
Meshing
Boundary conditions
Loads
Properties
Solution by ANSYS
Checking results
Modal analysis
Static structural analysis
Harmonic analysis
The meshing of the chassis is done by the use of auto generate mesh feature pre
sent in the FEA package ANSYS 14.0. The mesh so generated is program controlled
with the use of triangular elements. The proximity and curvature and higher rele
vance were also tried for, but the computer s inability to process the mesh result
ed in the adaptation of this mesh.
> The original chassis: The number of elements used to create the mesh is 33843
and the number of nodes used is 66828.
> The modified 1 chassis (modi2): The number of elements used to create the mesh
is 12513 and the number of nodes in the structure 24933.
> The modified 2 chassis (modi11): The number of elements used to create the mes
h is 8207 and the number of nodes in the structure 16241.
ANALYSIS IN ANSYS 14.0
The static structural, modal and harmonic response analysis id carr
ied out in the commercial packaged software ANSYS 14.0. The model is meshed and
four supports are attached on the underside of the chassis and the loads are pla
ced on the chassis. The equivalent (Von-Mises) stress and the total deformation
of the chassis under the given loads are examined in the structural analysis, th
e mode shapes and natural frequencies are established and in the harmonic analys
is the peak amplitude due to the resonance phenomenon is found.
Meshing, loads applied and boundary conditions on the chassis: